Game No. 4: North Carolina 35, ECU 20 |
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Game
Slants
Saturday, October 1, 2011
By Denny O'Brien |
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Schedule taking its toll
By
Denny O'Brien
©2011 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
GREENVILLE — To some degree,
East Carolina’s struggles to open the 2011 season should have been expected.
The opening schedule provided a pretty good clue to that possibility.
Three of the Pirates’ first
four opponents came from BCS automatic qualifier conferences and figure to
finish near the top of their leagues. It was a schedule demanding enough to
make any member of the Top 15 flinch.
So it should come as no
surprise that, after
a 35-20 home loss to North Carolina,
the Pirates have stumbled to a 1-3 start. The manner in which ECU has
struggled is another matter altogether.
Against the Heels, much like
the loss against South Carolina and
the win over Alabama-Birmingham, the
Pirates’ generosity was their ultimate undoing. Four giveaways helped North
Carolina build an early 28-3 lead from which the Pirates never recovered.
Though ECU obviously was
talented enough to overcome its seven turnovers against UAB, it simply
lacked the firepower to compensate for the four it committed Saturday.
That’s typically the case when facing a roster full of blue-chippers.
“We’ve faced three teams out
of four that have a chance to win their (AQ conference) championship,”
Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill said after the game. “We weren’t picked to win
ours. It’s the toughest schedule in the country. Bar none, second to none.
We know that. We knew the challenge coming into it. Those three teams there
are going to contend for championships in their league.
"We have to stay healthy
because this type of schedule can bang you up and beat you up.”
If there is any consolation
this season, it’s that the Pirates at least have remained relatively
healthy. Any toll from the ambitious non-conference schedule has not been
represented on the injury report.
That’s the good news. The bad
news is the unfortunate reality that East Carolina is in a 1-3 hole with
several challenges still ahead, leaving little room for error with regard to
the postseason hopes.
“That was a team that was as
talented as South Carolina in the SEC and as talented as Virginia Tech,”
McNeill said. “(North Carolina) is a powerful team. They have top-flight
talent. They have as strong a team as South Carolina or Virginia Tech. They
have very powerful lines.”
The Heels’ powerful offensive
line pushed East Carolina’s defensive front around for much of the night. It
paved the way for 220 rushing yards, 146 of which were delivered by Gio
Bernard.
The North Carolina defensive
front wasn’t too shabby, either, limiting the Pirates to only 73 rushing
yards on 21 carries. Granted, some of that can be attributed to the fact
that ECU was in catch-up mode much of the night.
Consider that a fairly routine
consequence with a schedule as aggressive as ECU’s.
To its credit, the East
Carolina scheduling philosophy has delivered on most of its objectives. It
has generated widespread interest in the program, dramatically increased
season ticket sales, and provided numerous national television appearances.
It has enabled athletics
director Terry Holland to expand Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as a response to the
growing interest. Admittedly, that wouldn’t have occurred if he padded the
slate with powder puffs.
But you also can’t deny that
ECU has suffered in the loss column. Since the Pirates’ memorable blowout
win over West Virginia in 2008, they are 1-13 against BCS AQ competition.
That one victory came last
season
in overtime against N.C. State at
home.
At this stage, there is no
denying that turnovers — not the schedule — are the primary concern for the
Pirates. If ECU continues fumbling at its current pace, it truthfully won’t
matter who it is facing.
That, more than anything
within the East Carolina football program, must be addressed.
Still, you can’t help but
think that the schedule could use a little tinkering. There is certainly
nothing wrong with mixing a few cupcakes in with the big boys.
It’s pretty clear that the
Pirates could benefit from a competitive breather.
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10/02/2011 05:58:42 AM |